


You Keep Me On My Toes (And This Is How It Goes)

by ordinary_ineffability



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Set Designer!Bokuto, Technical Director!Akaashi, Theatre AU, interesting fashion choices, owls everywhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 03:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3675540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ordinary_ineffability/pseuds/ordinary_ineffability
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>'It had been a nearly a year since Akaashi Keiji had taken on the role of technical director in their local theatre, and this had to be the fourth time that he’d found himself staring at the set design concepts and wondering whether the plans were even physically possible. To say that it had been a rollercoaster would be like saying that Tokyo was a <b>large town</b>.'</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Dedicated to tumblr users @yaboykeiji and @basedbokut (who are a glorious pair of Haikyuu!! nerds and basically how I'd imagine rl Kuroo and Bokuto would be), and based off of the prompt sent in by tumblr user @seraphica:</p>
<p>"I would love to see a theatre AU with Bokuto as the set designer who comes up with all sorts of brilliant but crazy designs and Akaashi as the overworked technical director who has to figure out how to make all that shit actually work. Featuring Kuroo as the head of the theatre who never seems to do jack shit."</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Keep Me On My Toes (And This Is How It Goes)

“Look, Akaashi, man, I’m sorry. You can’t limit creativity, though, you know that!”

Kuroo’s words were apologetic, but the Cheshire cat grin he was sporting gave away how amused he was by Akaashi’s predicament.

It had been a nearly a year since Akaashi Keiji had taken on the role of technical director in their local theatre, and this had to be the fourth time that he’d found himself staring at the set design concepts and wondering whether the plans were even physically possible. To say that it had been a rollercoaster would be like saying that Tokyo was a _large town._

He had to admit, however, that whilst the designs had kept him up into the early hours multiple times as he tried to get them to work, they were stunning when pulled off. The reviews for the past few performances had gone out of their way to discuss the memorable set designs and the talent behind them. And, honestly, Akaashi quite enjoyed the challenge that came with each portfolio presented to him – even if his sleep schedule paid the price.

“I get that,” he muttered, focusing back in on the conversation at hand and levelling Kuroo with a piercing look, “but it’s not an easy task, trying to work out a way to somehow create a large model of an owl that’s wings open to reveal the rooms for the play. The model itself will be a hassle, but if I manage to incorporate it into the set layout itself it will be close to miraculous.” 

Receiving only a shrug and another grin in reply, he sighed quietly. “I’ll see what I can do with Bokuto-san’s design, Kuroo-san.” The technical director added, heading to the kitchen in order to pre-brew the coffee he was undoubtedly going to need.

Entering the kitchen, he almost walked straight into the set designer in question. It was hard not to notice Bokuto Koutarou, and Akaashi should have guessed the minute they met that the other man would have some eccentric designs. His salt-and-pepper hair was gelled up into a look that reminded Akaashi somehow of an owl, and his golden eyes did not help the resemblance. His hair wasn’t the only thing that stood out, however. 

Whilst backstage crew didn’t have to dress to the standards of front of house, it was expected that they at least attempt to appear smart and professional. Akaashi himself chose to wear standard office attire, pairing a white shirt and black trousers with a tie in some muted colour. The same could not be said for Bokuto. 

The man seemed to own shirts in almost every bright or vibrant shade imaginable, and his collection of ties with owls on seemed to be endless. The closest thing he came to normal clothing was the charcoal grey trousers that he paired it all off with, but even those were matched with some odd belt or another. On anyone else, Akaashi probably would have been shocked, but he’d recovered from the surprise of it all by day three.

“Morning, Bokuto-san.” He greeted, shuffling past the other man in order to reach the coffee supplies. 

“Hey, hey, hey, Akaashi! Morning to you, too! And I told you before, drop the ‘san’. Y’know, you’re the only person here who uses ‘san’ with me, it’s so _weird_.” Bokuto replied. Akaashi simply shook his head and continued to sort himself out with caffeine. 

“Oh! You must have seen the set layout for _‘Wings of Midnight’_ by now, huh? What did you think?” the louder man continued, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement, making Akaashi question just how many cups of coffee had been consumed already.

“I saw them. They look nice, but I’m not sure whether they can be done. It seems incredibly complex, the idea may need to be scrapped if I can’t find a way to make it work smoothly…” he trailed off as Bokuto deflated, clearly disappointed.

“I should have guessed, huh? Of course my idea was too much this time, I’m really sorry you had to look at it. I’m useless at this, I really am, I don’t know why they even keep me here. I mean, what use is a set designer who can’t even create workable sets?” 

Realising that the other man was going into one of his depressive states, Akaashi quickly spoke up in order to reverse the damage. “I didn’t say it was unworkable, Bokuto-san, merely complex. I will do my best to make it work, but I will need time, is all.”

Bokuto visibly brightened at the words, grin reappearing as he hooted in delight. “Really?! Ah, you’re the best Akaashi!”

As he left with his coffee, Akaashi wondered just how much he was going to regret those words.

___

It was closing in on eleven-thirty at night when the peace in Akaashi’s space was utterly destroyed by the sound of his door flying open.

“Hey, hey, hey! How’s our favourite tech director doing with the latest project?” boomed a very familiar voice, and Akaashi mentally counted down from five to recover from the shock and focus himself to deal with the human hurricane that had entered the studio.

“Good evening, Bokuto-san. And I’m the only tech director.” He responded, glancing across at the set designer who had been the cause of his sleepless nights. 

Bokuto didn’t respond straight away, instead staring at the other man with widened eyes. With a light flush of embarrassment Akaashi realised he was still wearing his reading glasses. Tugging them off quickly, he prayed that his face wasn’t too pink and looked back again. 

Bokuto seemed to have recovered from the lapse quickly and grinned again. “Doesn’t mean you can’t be the favourite, though~” he said, before almost-skipping across to peer over the director’s shoulder. “Hey, that looks awesome! So you’re going with a pulley system?” 

Akaashi nodded, explaining in detail the logistics of the plan. Once he’d finished going through it all, he started as a large hand gripped onto his shoulder and squeezed. “Wow, Akaashi, you’ve done it again! See, this is why you’re the favourite.” 

Not bothering to respond verbally, Akaashi just sighed again. The hand on his shoulder squeezed gently, lingering slightly before finally letting go. 

That was the other thing, Akaashi mused as Bokuto let himself out of the office again. The two of them had grown from acquaintances to friends over the first handful of months, but recently their relationship had seemed to be changing once again. There had been awkward silences and fleeting glances and lingering touches that had started up a few weeks before and that were growing in frequency. He wasn’t against what was happening, but he was certainly hesitant. It had been a considerable amount of time since he’d last had any form of… _feelings_ , for someone else, and it had not ended well. That time had been bad enough, but his previous partner had only seen him on weekends beforehand. Dating a co-worker seemed to be a whole other level of risk, and Akaashi honestly wasn’t sure if he was willing to chance it. 

He’d decided, once he’d noticed the changes, that he would ultimately leave it all in Bokuto’s hands. After all, the man seemed far more self-assured than he had ever been, and he knew for a fact that Bokuto’s last relationship was far more recent than his own. If the set designer chose to take the next step over the ledge of relationships, Akaashi would willingly take the leap after him, but the technical director honestly wasn’t brave enough to be the first one to freefall. He could, however, make a couple of changes, small ones, enough to give a hint... 

Putting it all to one side, Akaashi shook his head, took a gulp of his current mug of now luke-warm coffee, and got back to work. 

_\---_

The set-up of the stage was always a nail-biting affair for everyone involved. Akaashi himself was sat at the back of the theatre, keeping a close eye on the owl being fixed into position. Aware of movement to his left, he glanced across and was unsurprised to see Bokuto perching – quite literally – on the chair next to his. 

“It’s looking good, huh?” the wild-haired man said, shooting Akaashi a grin. “I always love watching the set-up, it’s so exciting seeing the ideas come to life! And this one has to be one of my favourites, I’m actually pretty proud of it.” 

Akaashi nodded, looking back towards the stage. “It’s really captivating, Bokuto-s – _Bokuto_.” He replied quietly, deliberately refusing to move his gaze from the stage as he felt a shocked stare practically boring into the side of his face. 

“You…” Bokuto trailed off, a light chuckle tinging his voice. After a pause, he spoke again, in a quieter tone than normal. “I wanted to say… Thanks. I know I give you hell whenever a new play is brought in, and you always do an amazing job. Seriously, Akaashi, thank you.” 

Akaashi nodded, hoping desperately that his cheeks weren’t as warm as they felt. “To be honest, I want to thank you, too. I know I complain, but at the end of it all I don’t think I’d ever find a job as challenging and exciting as this one, and a good part of that is down to you.” He replied, eyes flickering to Bokuto’s now-pink cheeks. 

The pair sat silently for a while longer, watching the construction on stage. If there hands happened to brush slightly on the shared armrest, neither of them said a word. 


End file.
